Maxxis Minion DHRII 3C for Rail 7

[volksman]

Hey All! I recently got a Rail 7 and have put 200K on it in a week. I've managed to ride everything from super dry hard pack to super wet and slippy forests in that short period of time thanks to some weird timing (we were already drought like and then it opened up about 3 days ago). I found that the Bontrager XR5 were fine on the hard pack but on anything and everything else they seem to slip, including tarmac! So I'm thinking of swapping out the rear for a Minion DHRII 3C MAXXTERRA EXO+ TR. Our terrain here is pretty varied but the DHR seems to be a good all mountain tire. Am I missing something or is this a good upgrade?

 

[Gary]

the only thing you're possibly missing is that most Emtb riders prefer a tougher rear tyre casing. (either DD or DH casing with Maxxis tyres)
Personally I run standard Exos just fine on all but my DH bikes so if you also manage fine on single ply casings there's no need for you to swap to anything heavier either.

 

[BrentD]

That's exactly the tyre I run on my Rail on the rear in a 2.6 (DHF on the front). Good choice if your terrain is not rocky. I run Cushcore inserts to protect the rims a bit and also assist with tyre stability.

 

[Tony.OK]

Have run just normal exo tyres on both ebikes I've had and never dinged a rim or flatted in our trails, they're not very rocky though. I run 2.6's at 20psi.

 

[volksman]

We have plenty of rock but I'm thinking the addition of cushcore would likely help. It's interesting that Devinci and Kona ebikes come with the Maxxis but no mention of cushcore...

 

[Gary]

Eh?
Loads of brands bikes come with Maxxis tyres/tubes. Maxxis has no connection to the cushcore brand.
I wouldn't have thought any bike brand would ever spec cushcore on their off the shelf full builds.
Pretty much no off the shelf bikes even come with their tyres set up tubeless. Just tubeless ready. ie. with tubes installed but rims pre-taped with tubeless rim tape, tubeless compatible tyres fitted with tubes and a set of tubeless valves separately in the box. It's too time consuming/labour intensive to make any sense in an assembly factory plus the sealant may well dry up or lose pressure long before the boxed bike hits the shop floor/customer.
fitting cushcore is even more labour intensive and cushcore also happens to be really expensive (£150 a set).

 

[Doug Stampfer]

As soon as I put on minions the bike just seems to sigh with relief. I have run the Srs & started thinking that they were not as bad as I imagined however changing to minions was night & day in the corners. (I run DHFs front & back simply because they are usually on special half the price of the dhrs sometimes)

 

[Philly G]

It's a personal preference, but I really love the Assegai out front. I've run the DHF and DHRII previously, but the Assegai is my favourite. Either Aggressor or Dissector for the rear. On my accoustic, I have only ever run Exo Maxx Terra, to keep the weight down. But on my Rail, I have tried DD casings with Maxx Grip for the first time, and I love them. Support, stability and grip for days.I can run these tyres at lower pressures than I expected too, given the bike's extra weight. Definitely go tubeless, but no need, necessarily, to run expensive inserts. I would save yourself the expense and faff of cushcore, try the heavier casing/grippier compound tyres. For better rolling resistance on the rear, the Aggressor comes in dual compound with the DD casing.

 

[volksman]

I gotta read up on the casing differences. That said I read a bit about CushCore in general and I am really into the idea for a couple reasons but biggest being insurance, it protects my rims which in my area can be eaten quickly, but it also provides a run flat which I can see coming in handy when I'm 30K from home and no ride to come get me. Still thinking about it all though.

 

[Philly G]

I gotta read up on the casing differences. That said I read a bit about CushCore in general and I am really into the idea for a couple reasons but biggest being insurance, it protects my rims which in my area can be eaten quickly, but it also provides a run flat which I can see coming in handy when I'm 30K from home and no ride to come get me. Still thinking about it all though.

100% CushCore would be useful to you in those conditions. Might pay to research all the other inserts too, there are cheaper, lighter options available that are less hassle to install as well

 

[KenX]

I'm of the opinion a DH casing gives sufficient pinch-flat protection without the cost of cushcore, ends up around the same weight as a lighter tyre + cushcore and is waaaaay less hassle if you do puncture on the trail.......

 

[Philly G]

I'm of the opinion a DH casing gives sufficient pinch-flat protection without the cost of cushcore, ends up around the same weight as a lighter tyre + cushcore and is waaaaay less hassle if you do puncture on the trail.......

Going by my experience so far with the DD casing, I agree with you! But an insert does offer run-flat protection as well, if you rip your sidewall on a rock and it's beyond a trail side repair

 

[Varaxis]

I tried CushCore with EXO DHR2 and also some SnakeSkin tires and it was far from sufficient.

SuperGravity didn't pinch flat on me, but didn't prevent my rim from being smashed (CushCore let me ride flat). Admittedly, I probably let my air pressure get too low, as I sometimes just simply squeeze my tires before riding off.

Maxxis DH tire with folding bead problem free, other than massive drag. Despite the massive drag, I've been challenging hills happily. Just that the moment I try to ride with assist off, it feels like a sudden strong headwind.

I thought about CushCore + DH casing, but it was a bitch to even get the DH tire on my rim. It was a warm day, and I had to take it indoors to install since I was sweating hard trying to massage the thing into the middle channel before giving a good attempt to claw the loose end on.

 

[Philly G]

Just that the moment I try to ride with assist off, it feels like a sudden strong headwind.

I feel like that in Eco

 

[urastus]

I second the assegai on the front - it just works. Regards the rear; I love the high volume of the dhrII and dhf, but can't get the casing I would like in 2.6. I'll choose differently when my current dhf (summer) dhrII (winter) tyres wear out. Incidentally I have one of them in a dual compound 2.6 with 60tpi casing - that is stiffer than the exo with 120tpi casing - I haven't tried it yet. If that is an improvement it would be OK in summer but I prefer softer compound (maxterra) for winter, which only comes in 120tpi. I used to run tubes - when I went tubeless I had to increase pressure in the rear by 2 psi to get the equivalent protection because of the too soft side walls. With a tube I run 18psi, without 20psi. I initially tried to run tubeless at 18 and got a pinch flat At this stage I'd go eddy current rear 2.6 - they look really good. I think this would suit me all year, as would the assegai on the front. Assegai in exo on the front seems fine - I'd go exo+ next time; for minimal weight gain it's an extra layer for a bit more damping / protection.

I haven't tried the exo+ yet - if you try it on the rear I'd be interested to hear how it goes.